With 17 more cases of Omicron being reported across India nine persons in Jaipur, seven in Pune and a 37-year-old fully vaccinated man who arrived in Delhi from Tanzania — the total number of cases has risen to 21.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Read | The Omicron response is not making sense
You can track
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Here are the latest developments :
IMA urges govt. to announce 'additional' Covid vaccine doses for healthcare, frontline workers
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Monday urged the government to announce "additional" doses of Covid vaccine for healthcare, frontline workers and immunocompromised individuals amid concerns over the Omicron variant of coronavirus, 21 cases of which been detected in India so far.
It also demanded that the government expedite the proposal of vaccinating individuals aged 12 to 18 years.
Scindia directs Delhi airport operator to implement better crowd management
Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Monday directed Delhi airport operator DIAL to implement better crowd management strategies after passengers complained of chaos and crowding at its terminal following the implementation of new coronavirus-related travel guidelines, senior government officials said.
Amid concerns over the Omicron variant of coronavirus, the Centre had issued a revised guideline for international travellers which came into effect on December 1.
The minister called a meeting on Monday with officials of the Airports Authority of India, Bureau of Immigration and GMR group-led Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), they noted.
Further containment measures after consulting experts, says Karnataka CM
With fresh COVID-19 concerns, Karnataka Chief Minister Basvaraj Bommai on Monday said the government is closely monitoring the situation in the state and will take decisions on enforcing further containment measures after consulting the experts.
In the wake of two cases of the new Omicron variant of coronavirus being detected in the state, and fresh COVID clusters emerging, the Karnataka government on Friday had announced certain preventive measures that included compulsory two dose vaccination for entering malls, cinema halls or theatres, and for parents of school or college going students.
Wife, brother-in-law of Gujarat Omicron patient test positive for coronavirus, samples sent for genome sequencing
The wife and brother-in-law of an NRI man, who had been found infected with the Omicron variant of COVID-19 here in Gujarat, have tested positive for coronavirus and their samples have been sent for genome sequencing, officials said on Monday.
Both of them were shifted to an isolation ward, said a release issued by the Jamnagar Municipal corporation.
On December 4, the genome sequencing established that the 72-year-old NRI man, who arrived here from Zimbabwe, one of the "at-risk" countries, had contracted the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
Thailand detects first case of Omicron variant
Thailand has detected its first case of the Omicron coronavirus variant in a U.S. citizen who had traveled to the country from Spain late last month, a health official said on Monday,
The confirmed case in the man, who had arrived on Nov. 29, makes Thailand the 47th country to have found the new variant, Opas Karnkawinpong, Director-General of the Department of Disease Control, told a news conference.
Half of India's adult population fully vaccinated: PM says important to keep up momentum
With over 50% of the country's eligible adult population now fully vaccinated against COVID-19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 6 said the inoculation drive has crossed another important milestone and it is important to keep this momentum going to strengthen the fight against the pandemic.
Active COVID-19 cases in country lowest in 552 days
With 8,306 people testing positive for coronavirus infection in a day, India's total tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 3,46,41,561, while the active cases declined to 98,416, the lowest in 552 days, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday.
The death toll climbed to 4,73,537 with 211 fresh fatalities, according to the data updated at 8 am.
The daily rise in new coronavirus infections has been recorded below 10,000 for ten straight days and less than 50,000 for 162 consecutive days now.
The active cases comrpise 0.28% of the total infections, the lowest since March 2020, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.35%, the ministry said. -PTI
Omicron has higher risk of reinfection than Delta and Beta variants: Singapore's health ministry
Singapore's Ministry of Health has said that early clinical observations globally suggest that the Omicron variant of COVID-19 may be more transmissible and have a higher risk of reinfection compared to the Delta and Beta variants of the virus.
"This means that there is a higher likelihood of individuals who have recovered from COVID-19 to be reinfected with the Omicron variant," Channel News Asia quoted the ministry as saying on Sunday in an update on the Omicron variant. -PTI
Anthony Fauci says early reports encouraging about Omicron variant
United States health officials said that while the Omicron variant of the coronavirus is rapidly spreading throughout the country, early indications suggest it may be less dangerous than Delta, which continues to drive a surge of hospitalisations.
President Joe Biden’s Chief Medical Advisor, Dr. Anthony Fauci, told CNN’s “State of the Union” on December 5 that scientists need more information before drawing conclusion’s about Omicron’s severity.
Assam govt issues fresh SOP as new COVID variant cases increase in country
The Assam government on Sunday issued a new SOP, including mandatory RT-PCR test on arrival, for international travellers, amid rising number of cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in the country.
The fresh standard operating procedure made 7-day home quarantine compulsory for those who test negative for the coronavirus infection. The new SOP has been formulated on the basis of the protocol for international travellers prepared by the Centre, State Health Minister Keshab Mahanta said in a statement. -PTI
Protest against coronavirus restrictions turns violent in Brussels
Police fired teargas and used water cannons on Sunday to disperse protesters pelting officers with cobblestones and fireworks as a demonstration in Brussels over government-imposed COVID-19 restrictions turned violent.
A few thousand protesters marched peacefully through the centre of the Belgian capital to the neighbourhood which hosts the headquarters of European Union institutions, where the demonstration reached its end point. -Reuters
Passengers arriving at city airport asked to book COVID test slots online
The Chennai airport has advised all passengers arriving from countries categorised as “at risk” to book in advance their slots online for Rapid PCR and RT-PCR test.
A senior airport official said incoming passengers had been unable to book in advance slots for Rapid PCR as well as RT-PCR test because of a glitch in the booking site.
COVID-19 war room in Vellore, nearby districts on high alert
With Collectors holding detailed discussions with senior health officials on Sunday, COVID-19 war rooms in Vellore, Tiruvannamalai, Ranipet and Tirupattur are on high alert to tackle emergencies that can arise due to the Omicron variant of Coronavirus.
Vellore Collector P. Kumaravel Pandian inspected the war room, set up in the Vellore City Corporation building, on Sunday and instructed health officials on preparedness measures that need to be taken. At present, 50 international fliers have landed in Vellore from the Chennai airport. Despite having a negative test result on the infection, health officials were instructed by the Collector to home quarantine the international fliers, mostly from Chennai, for seven days.
Thirty-nine medical students test positive
Around 39 medical students of Chalmeda Anand Rao Institute of Medical Sciences (CAIMS) at Bommakal in Karimnagar rural mandal have tested positive for COVID-19, apparently following the college’s annual day fest held on the college premises over a week ago.
Some staff members of the college have also reportedly tested positive for coronavirus.\